The Sabres rattled off 407 net rushing yards against the Laker defense, paced by senior running back Brant Luzier's 191 yards on 19 carries (10 yards per carry), who also found the end zone four times.

"The offensive line did a fantastic job for us opening up holes," said Sartell head coach John Ross. "We play our best when we can run the ball."

For the second week in a row, the Lakers struggled defending the interior rushing attack against a much larger offensive line.

Last week, Duluth East attacked the interior line, gaining the bulk of their yards off tackle and picking up 416 yards on the ground in a 51-8 win.

Against Sartell, the shifty Luzier found some wide holes between the tackles, ripping off a total of eight carries of 10 yards or more -- including touchdown runs of 10, 14, 12 and nine yards.

On the other side of the ball, Sartell controlled the line of scrimmage again, holding the Laker's rushing game to 134 yards and a 4.3 yards per rush average.

The Sabres limited DL senior fullback Dustin Rietsema to 22 yards on 10 carries, while senior quarterback Reed Oistad had 56 yards on 11 carries, with a big chunk of those coming on a 42-yard run late in the first quarter.

"We were able to take away their inside run, because our linebackers were playing great and played their assignments well," Ross said. "We took away what DL likes to do."

Turnovers also played a big hindrance to the Laker's chances, with three in the first half alone stalling important drives.

After Sartell rolled down the field on the game's opening possession -- netting 59 yards on six plays and capped on a Luzier 10-yard run -- the Lakers responded well.

Senior slotback Aaron Gnoinsky broke a big 31-yard end around the right side to the Sabre 22, setting up Oistad's nice pass to lanky sophomore wideout Josh Stalberger, who outreached the cornerback for the touchdown.

DL went up 7-6 on Steven Labine's extra-point kick.

The Lakers had a grand opportunity to expand on their lead, forcing Sartell to a three-and-out series and a punt.

But on the ensuing series' second play, Oistad's pass down the middle of the field on second and 14 was intercepted by Rob Voshell.

That play turned the tide, as a 21-yard screen pass from quarterback Cole Jenkins to Luzier on third and six set Sartell up on DL's 14.

Luzier found a gap between the tackles on the next play to go the full 14 yards and put Sartell up 12-7 after the two-point conversion failed.

"That interception (by Voshell) was a great play," Ross said. "We've struggled with those types of turnovers this season and getting those in the first half, showed our guys we can cause those types of turnovers."

The Lakers were poised to retake the lead on the next series, as Oistad stuttered-stepped his way through the defensive line and broke away for a 42-yard run to the Sartell 21.

But a 12-yard loss after a pitch sailed high on Max Knoll, was followed up with Oistad's second interception on an attempted screen play, instead linebacker Sam Tillemans read it perfectly and snagged the pass and rumbled 20 yards to the DL 46.

That led to seven more points by Sartell, with Luzier taking the bulk of the drive with a 30-yard run and capped by Josh Kremer on a three-yard dive to give Sartell the 19-7 advantage.

After a punt by DL, Sartell put together a seven-play 66-yard scoring march, finished on a Brayde Lipp catch in the end zone from 17 yards out by Jenkins for the 26-7 margin.

DL's second golden opportunity to put points on the board before halftime slipped away, this time on a fumble.

DL drove from its own 35 to the Sartell 24 -- aided by Oistad passes of 12 yards to Stalberger and a 10-yarder to Joe Mollberg -- but it abruptly ended on a fumbled snap, recovered by Sartell's Lipp.

A 22-point third quarter broke DL's sails, as the Sartell offensive line and Luzier took over -- scoring on three straight possessions, all 17 plays but one, on the ground.

For DL, a key to the game was to sustain long drives and pick up first downs.

That didn't occur, as Sartell held a 21-8 advantage in first downs, while outgaining the Lakers by a 476-191 margin.

"They were the better team," said DL head coach Flint Motschenbacher.

Oistad finished with 57 yards passing on a 4-10 night, with three interception and one touchdown.

Jenkins was 4-6 for 64 yards and a touchdown pass.

The loss ends the Laker's season with a 5-4 record, while Sartell moves on to face No. 2 Sauk Rapids-Rice Saturday.